Syndicate
The Syndicate is a mostly Human criminal organization that operates primarily in the Arathi Highlands and the Alterac Mountains, although a few small encampments are scattered in the Hillsbrad Foothills. Their membership numbers around 3,000 persons. They have three leaders: Lord Aliden Perenolde (who took over from his father Aiden Perenolde), descendent of the original Lord of Alterac, who directs the Syndicate's actions in the Alterac Mountains from Strahnbrad; Lord Falconcrest directs Syndicate actions in Arathi Highlands from the main keep in the semi-abandoned fortress of Stromgarde; and Lady Beve Perenolde, daughter of Aiden Perenolde. History During the Second War the Kingdom of Alterac, led by Lord Perenolde, was discovered to be in league with the Orcish Horde. Perenolde believed that a Horde victory was inevitable, and thus offered aid to the Horde by stirring up rebellions, attacking Alliance bases, and giving them supplies. When this treachery was discovered, the Alliance marched on Alterac and destroyed it. Perenolde and any nobles who went along with his plans were stripped of their titles and land. Many of the nobility managed to escape, however, and began plotting their revenge. Using their still sizable fortunes, the nobility hired a band of thieves and assassins, forming an organization known as the Syndicate. At first the Syndicate's goal was just to spread chaos and disorder, striking from hidden bases in the Alterac Mountains. With the end of the Third War and the resultant chaos however, the leaders of the Syndicate saw their chance to return Alterac to its former power. They have now gained control of several outposts in the surrounding area including the sacked fortress of Durnholde Keep and a portion of the city of Stromgarde. They are enemies of both the Alliance, whom they consider their mortal enemies, and the Horde, whom they consider mere brutes good for nothing but slave labor. As a result, the Syndicate is now hunted by both factions, with the Banshee Queen Sylvanas Windrunner, in particular, placing a bounty on their heads - guaranteeing that all captured Syndicate members will be summarily executed. In addition, Horde Warchief Thrall ordered a number of his agents, including Krusk, Drull, Tog'Thar and their leader Gol'Dir to launch an investigation into the nature of the Syndicate and its activities, as well as to recover a necklace that belonged to a dear friend of his, Taretha Foxton - a necklace now worn by Elysa, the mistress of Lord Aliden. Current Status The Argus Wake There is considerable evidence that the Syndicate is being manipulated by a higher group called the Argus Wake, who in turn serve the Shadow Council at Jaedenar. This would put the Argus Wake on a level with groups such as the Burning Blade and the Searing Blade. Precious little information exists about either the Argus Wake or their exact connection to the Syndicate, however. The Argus Wake does not appear to be present anywhere outside the Alterac Mountains, and their only minions there are the human Argus Shadow Mages in Strahnbrad. In Orgrimmar, Thrall warns that the Argus Wake is a group that serves the Shadow Council, just like the Burning Blade and Searing Blade; beyond this, the group receives little mention. The Argus Wake would appear to have literally nothing to do with the lost Eredar homeworld of Argus, except the fact that the Shadow Council is a group of demons and demon worshippers, the Eredar themselves being demons hailing from Argus. Could be the Argus Wake named themselves that in honor of the great Eredar. Assassination Policy The Syndicate has worked hard to destabilize the regions it operates in and does not hesitate to resolve to subterfuge and covert operations. Baron Vardus, a high-ranking member of the Syndicate, was recently involved in a foiled attempt to assassinate Magistrate Henry Maleb in Southshore. Baron Vardus has since been assassinated, although it is still unclear whether this was done by an agent of the Alliance seeking to retaliate for the attempt on the Magistrate's life or by a representative of the Horde seeking to further check the expansion of the Shadow Council's agents. Slavery The Syndicate strongly believes in slave labor and is determined to return to the days of the internment camps for orcs. Aliden Perenolde in particular was determined to enslave the orcs again, thus following in the footsteps of his mentor Blackmoore. Syndicate Presence: Hillsbrad Foothills The presence of the Syndicate in the Hillsbrad Foothills is fairly low. Although a number of skirmishes with its agents have been reported, credible sources attest that the Syndicate forces there are poorly trained and equipped, and are no match for an experienced adventurer. In spite of this, the Syndicate has successfully held control over Durnholde Keep and continues to use it as its base of operations in the area. More significant Syndicate presence can be encountered further to the north and east, where the Syndicate controls extensive areas of the Alterac Mountains and Arathi Highlands, even succeeding in holding a part of the ruined city of Stromgarde, despite the best efforts by the Alliance to remove the Syndicate from the area. Syndicate Presence: Alterac Mountains Presently the domain of Aliden Perenolde, the Alterac Mountaints houses Strahnbrad - an abandoned town that has since been taken over by the Syndicate and transformed into a military installation where Syndicate agents practice their skills as well as keep some of their enslaved orcs. The Alterac Mountains are also the home of Dandred's Fold - the area where the mansion of the late Syndicate leader, Lord Perenolde, is located. The Syndicate presence in the area still remains strong, and its soldiers in the Alterac Mountains are well-trained and equipped, second perhaps only to the elite group that currently controls a part of Stormgarde in Arathi Highlands. As a Faction The Syndicate as a faction in World of Warcraft is very odd in comparison to most factions in that the killing of the factions members will not lower your standing with the faction. For most players who are not a rogue, the only way for the Syndicate to appear on their Reputation Menu is to complete the quest Junkboxes Needed, which is available to non-rogues. However, the quest requires Heavy Junkboxes...which only rogues can obtain by pick-pocketing NPCs above level fifty, and those can only be traded to you - making it difficult to arrange such a transaction. How to Gain Reputation Currently there is only one known option to increase a player’s reputation with the Syndicate, and that is by killing members of the Ravenholdt Manor faction. Unfortunately, at the moment little is known about the rewards of increasing Syndicate reputation as all Ravenholdt-affiliated NPCs only give 1 Syndicate Reputation Point, with the exception of Myrokos Silentform, who gives 5 (although the corresponding loss of reputation with Ravenholdt is also five times as great). With all players starting at 32000/36000 Hated with the faction, it would require killing 10,000 Ravenholdt NPCs to reach Neutral status with the faction; unfortunately, Neutral status is the highest you can reach with the Syndicate, and if not to deter players further, none of the Ravenholdt NPCs drop loot. WARNING: If you do decide to kill Ravenholdt NPCs, know that there is currently no way to restore your standings with Ravenholdt, if you do go below Neutral. The reason for the problem is that none of the quests that give Ravenholdt Reputation points will be available because none of the members from Ravenholdt will speak to you. This would mean its a permanent change and you will never be able to interact with any of the NPC loyal to Ravenholdt ever again. Also note that players start at 0/3000 reputation with Ravenholdt, and killing even one of their NPCs at this reputation level will forever prevent you from raising your reputation with them again. There is one possible way for rogues to become friendly with both the Syndicate and Ravenholdt, but it would very likely require hundreds of hours. Turning in Syndicate Emblems to Ravenholdt guards doesn't lower your reputation with the Syndicate. With this in mind, one could turn in one Emblem and gain 100 Ravenholdt reputation points and be able to kill four Ravenholdt members to gain four Syndicate Reputation points without going below Neutral with Ravenholdt. In other words you would need to pickpocket 3250 Syndicate Emblems and kill 13,000 Ravenholdt NPCs. The Syndicate's http://www.thottbot.com/?fa=70 faction page on thottbot features a discussion between some dedicated players, one of whom claims to have ground Syndicate reputation as far as it goes (to Neutral). Or at least he/she claims that at neutral the regular guards stop giving reputation when killed. However, it's not quite clear if Master Kang stops at neutral or if he continues to give reputation up to friendly. So it might be possible to hit friendly with the Syndicate after all, but it would seem that some of Syndicate leaders aren't in fact members of the faction and as such, one might not expect the greatest rewards. However, until someone actually attempts this, there's no way of knowing. Ravenholdt NPC Reputation Value Chart Category:Syndicate Category:Factions